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Kara Haney

Kara has been practicing meditation and studying Buddhism since 1993. She has been leading Vipassana meditation since 1996, originally with women in recovery settings. Kara practices the fifth precept of full renunciation from intoxicants and has twenty-five years in recovery. In 2013 she helped start Buddhist recovery groups in Santa Cruz and had been a foundational member and mentor for the community. Kara attends multiple silent Vipassana retreats each year, has been empowered to teach by guiding teacher Bob Stahl, and is currently in the Dharmacharya teacher training with Venerable Pannavati. Kara teaches weekly meditation groups and daylong retreats at Insight Santa Cruz and online. She enjoys tea, cemeteries, new wave, jigsaw puzzles, and is completing a master's degree in Social Work.

Teachings

August 6th 2023
February 7th 2021 — Watch Your Tone: Awareness of Feeling Tones
With any experience, there is a felt sense that arises within us before the onslaught of stories and emotions. It often happens so quickly that we are unaware of it. These feeling tones set in motion the habitual reactions of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that we get caught up in.

The Buddha taught us the cause of our suffering in the Second Noble Truth, mainly craving for things to be different than they are. Bringing awareness, our mindfulness, to the subtleties in feeling tones of experiences allows the space for us to see clearly how this plays out, and we then can expand our capacity to respond to experience as it is, rather than react.
January 5th 2020 — Generosity: Transforming the Heart
As we embark into a new year, we will explore the importance of cultivating generosity (dāna) and gratitude (kataññuta) and turning our intentions toward the interrelationship of the two. The practice of generosity is at the foundation of Buddhist teachings. At its essence, dana is radical because it is the practice of giving freely without an expectation of receiving something in return and of realizing our interconnection to all that is. Dana is a trusting step, confidence that allows us to let go and open to life. Kara will discuss the nature of dana, how it can be practiced, and its connection to the path of liberation.
September 1st 2019